Hopkins 4K for Cancer

July 17, 2002

Day 46 (97 Miles) Capitol Reef National
I think that the only reason we are able to convince ourselves to wakeup at 4 in the morning is the fact that we know breakfast is awaiting us at a nearby table or tarp. This morning that was especially the case. I was awoken by my old standby, which I hadn’t yet eaten on the trip, oatmeal and brown sugar. Adam and Courson, the van drivers for the day, got up early to boil water and cook the oatmeal. The effort was greatly appreciated. After our daily moment of silence Jenn and I headed out on the long ride ahead.

The morning ride can best be described as hilly. Every time we got to the top of one hill, the peak of the next loomed in the distance. A couple of gas stations and a fifty cent slated peanut roll later we arrived at the water stop. We were greeted by Adam’s smiling face along with a couple of boxes of Bo Jackson Better Bars. I DO NOT recommend them, when it comes to energy bars Bo does not know. A little further along the road we stopped at a gas station at the base of a mountain. We talked to a gentleman there about our trip and the cause. It’s always inspiring to talk to others about what we’re doing. Although freshly motivated, the climb still proved to be a challenge. About halfway up the mountain, at the base of an especially steep section, a small dirt road veered off to the right and appeared to bypass the steep part. In our slightly delirious state we decided it would be a good idea to take the supposed “shortcut.” We followed it for about half a mile and then regained our senses and turned back around. We grit our teeth and climbed the mountain to lots of meat and Tang awaiting us for lunch at the summit. I used to hate Tang, but now any type of drink mix is a welcome addition to a meal. Jenn and I ate pretty quickly and pushed off in an attempt to arrive at the destination at a reasonable hour. The downhill was fantastic. Each time I fly down the side of the mountain I eagerly take in the wind flying in my face and the fleeting sensation of complete freedom. I don’t use a speedometer and therefore don’t know my true speed, but in my mind I could swear that I’m crusing along at over 50 miles an hour; of course, no one on the trip has reached that speed, so I just like to tell myself that it’s the truth. The road eventually evened out and once we passed the town of Koosharem enormous mountains, dirt and sections of brush encompassed us on all sides. We saw a couple of mini tornadoes and rode through a rainstorm - all par for the course. Thayer caught up to us with about 20 miles to go and kept us entertained with his mooing and chasing after cows - two of our favorite pastimes that never seem to get old. A water/snack stop with 17 miles left refueled us for the rest of way (in addition to the antics of Adam, Blair and Catherine otherwise known as ABC). With two miles left to go Jenn got a flat. She’s a pro at fixing them these days and fixed it in no time. About 400 yards down the road she got another flat; I’m not kidding. I would guess that as a group we’ve definitely gotten over 100 flat tires on this trip. Changing a tube is a skill that mostly all of us will leave this trip knowing how to do. When we arrived at the Circleville RV park a bunch of us were very hungry so we went to a local café for a pre-dinner feast. About an hour later half of the group headed to Butch Cassidy’s Sundance Café for a dinner of burgers, potatoes and salad. The other half of the group got caught in the rainstorm and had to wait the worst of it out in a town along the way. They arrived while we were at dinner. We headed back to camp and started to setup tents. Mine was missing a crucial piece, but Courson used his boy scout training, a toilet paper roll and athletic tape to fix it. I sleepily went to bed, hoping that the makeshift tent wouldn’t fall on top of me as I slept - it didn’t. It was just another day, another mountain, another 96 miles closer to San Francisco.

See you in Cali - Kelly Hewitt